Santana - Inner Secrets 1978 Blues-Rock, Hard Rock, Latin Rock
Inner Secrets Review by William Ruhlmann
Since he had joined Santana in 1972, keyboard player Tom Coster had been Carlos Santana's right-hand man, playing, co-writing, co-producing, and generally taking the place of founding member Greg Rolie. But Coster left the band in the spring of 1978, to be replaced by keyboardist/guitarist Chris Solberg and keyboardist Chris Rhyme. Despite the change, the band soldiered on, and with Inner Secrets, they scored three chart singles: the disco-ish "One Chain (Don't Make No Prison)" (#59), "Stormy" (#32), and a cover of Buddy Holly's "Well All Right" (#69), done in the Blind Faith arrangement. (There seems to be a Steve Winwood fixation here. The album also featured a cover of Traffic's "Dealer.") The singles kept the album on the charts longer than any Santana LP since 1971, but it was still a minor disappointment after Moonflower, and in retrospect seems like one of the band's more compromised efforts.
Tracks:
01. Dealer (Jim Capaldi)/Spanish Rose (Carlos Santana) - 5:50
02. Move On (Santana, Chris Rhyne) - 4:25
03. One Chain (Don't Make No Prison) (Dennis Lambert, Brian Potter) - 7:12
04. Stormy (Buddy Buie, James B. Cobb) - 4:46
05. Well All Right (Norman Petty, Buddy Holly, Jerry Allison, Joe Mauldin) - 4:10
06. Open Invitation (Santana, Lambert, Potter, Greg Walker, David Margen) - 4:46
07. Life Is A Lady (Lambert)/Holiday (Santana) - 3:47
08. The Facts Of Love (Lambert, Potter) - 5:29
09. Wham! (Santana, Graham Lear, Armando Peraza, Raul Rekow, Pete Escovedo) - 3:24
Personnel:
- Devadip Carlos Santana - guitars, backing vocals
- Chris Solberg - guitars, organ, backing vocals
- Greg Walker - lead vocals
- Chris Rhyne - keyboards, synthesizer
- David Margen - bass
- Graham Lear - drums
- Armando Peraza - bongos, percussion
- Raul Rekow - congas, percussion
- Pete Escovedo - timbales, percussion
- Dennis Lambert - clavinet, backing vocals, producer
- Brian Potter - producer
